Fire Lily Sunday Flower Walk

We were warned by Pat that we'd only have to wait two weeks after the fire for the Fire Lilies Cyrtanthus ventricosa to come up. Well it's only a week and a half and they're out, literally all over!

Fire Lily Cyrtanthus ventricosa

This below is the group next to the cycle path which we've known about for several years. I've moved the path away from them gradually over the years, but now that a stump opposite them has burned away, I've been able to kick away at the upper bank and pack more stones around these on the lower edge to protect them. There was no sign of these this time last week, I looked!

The group of Cyrtanthus ventricosa we've been protecting for years!

But this one is right in the middle of the cycle-path a short distance away!

Lone Cyrtanthus ventricosa in the middle of the cycle track!

Not surprisingly, the other one we have known about and had marked with a ring of stones, has also come up:

This is the other one we knew about and marked with a ring of stones

The fire is not out yet..... fanned by a brisk South-easter.

Fire still burning after a week and a half.

These burning stumps can throw up burning embers in this brisk South-easter and spread into unburned areas. But they are being watched by the tireless Working on Fire staff!

Working on Fire staff still on duty!

Otherwise, the regeneration is spectacularly quick in some cases as with this Restio:

Restio recovering quickly!

Another Restio was interesting, possibly an Elegia persistens. It had partly burned and fallen flat on the ground:

Elegia persistens (?) collapsed but spreading seeds

Yet all around, seed-heads had been blown into the now nutrient-rich holes of burned-out stumps:

Seed in hole from burned stump

... and:

Another....

.... and:

And another!

The Ways of Nature! At about this stage, we were treated to an aerial display of Formation Flying by two raptors, too far away for us to identify, and not looking like our normal Yellow-billed Kites or Jackal Buzzards. I captured a few seconds of their flight on this link: http://youtu.be/GOmIAgvuizs

I went to look at the remains of the Leucospermum oleifolium which we found recently.

Burned-out Leucospermum oleifolium

A bit sad to see, yet the flowers were interesting. There had been many spent flowers lying under the bush which I commented on, those are dispersed or burned, but those still on the bush look as if they will set seeds and disperse them. Comments, please!

But look at the flower!

This is the burned-out Cape Rockwood Heeria argentea we found at the same time. We will be watching it, but this shows it growing in rocks as Dominic said he normally finds them!

Burned out Cape Rockwood Heeria argentea

We walked on beyond the burned area.......

The far edge of the fire

The first unburned beauty we found was a Protea cynaroides, in bud now.

King Protea Protea cynaroides in bud

We crossed a stream, still just flowing at this time of the year completely overgrown with the shrub which Jennetta kindly identified, Water White Alder Brachylaena neriifolia, all in flower. They are said to like river valleys, these do!

Water White Alder Brachylaena neriifolia growing happily in a ravine

On the other side, we were treated to a completely different mix of Ericas from our normal stamping ground, yet we were only 500 metres beyond!

Unknown Erica

Flower detail:

Flower detail

Another:

Another unknown Erica

The flower looks like Erica pulchella, but the rest of the plant doesn't!

Its flowers

This one with round urn-shaped flowers:

Another 'new' Erica

Closer up:

Flower detail

This one has longer flowers:

Another unknown pink Erica with longer flowers

Flower detail:

Flower detail

On the way back, we recognised the burned out pink 'Helichrysum' Phaenocoma prolifera, even like this, it's impressive. Even burned, it's beautiful!

Burned out Phaenocoma prolifera

We walk back through the Experimental Farm. Not sure what Experiments they are doing besides perhaps seeing how many Codling Moths can live in one apple, but it's grossly unfair that this can be found on a Government Institution, next to a commercial orchard!

Codling Moth on Golden Delicious on Experimental Farm

Back at home, the March Lilies are looking splendid! There are more coming up!

March Lilies Amaryllis belladonna

:-) A

---

This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active.

Paradise Lost Sunday Flower Walk!

Fynbos needs fire, but when it comes, it's such a disappointment! On Tuesday morning, it is reported, children who should have been at school (!) at a swimming place lit a fire and it got out of control, leading to huge losses of plantation trees and danger to properties in the area. 

The whole valley had to turn out with bakkie-sakkies on Wednesday afternoon to assist Working on Fire with three Hueys and a Pawnee water-bomber 'plane, Cape Pine and Cape Nature prevent the fire from spreading into Applegarth and the Experimental Farm. I was involved with a tractor and spray machine from 6 pm till 2 am on Tuesday night, watching a back-burn. During the night the wind came up in our direction and the fire jumped the road, so I was helping again from midday to 12 pm on Wednesday, by which time the fire was under control.

At one stage the helicopters were doing 2-minute circuits, from dump to dump, which can be seen in these two you-tubes: http://youtu.be/ChNVF7c7m5c and http://youtu.be/qLvjQGhZkog, dropping 2½ tonnes of water at a time.

The result is devastating:

Looking South towards our farm

We live dead centre, behind the closest orchard. The unburned band is only about 300 metres wide. The unburned part includes the Agathosma betulina we have been watching, with its 'babies' all around:

This Buchu Agathosma betulina and its 'babies' are in the unburned band

But it seems to have just included the pink Gladiolus carneus which we luckily collected seeds from.

Looking Eastwards, to the left of the top picture, one can see how the fire swept through the plantation towards Applegarth and the Experimental Farm. The Country Club is on the left hand edge of the picture:

Fire through the plantation

At one stage on Wednesday the Experimental Farm was seriously threatened:

This is how close the fire got to the Experimental Farm orchards

Further around to the North, there is a fire-truck and Cape Pine staff are still attending to flare-ups on the 'left flank' of the fire:

Northwards

Pippa worked out where to look for this, the Agapanthus walshii with the five flowers on it. We had only last week slipped a stocking over one of them to catch a few seeds.

One of our earliest Agapanthus walshii spots had five flowers

We found another, which bravely held on to its flower, but all the seeds are 'cooked':

Pippa found one with a flower still but the seeds were 'cooked'

This is the magnificent Mimetes cucullatus we have been watching on the top of the hill:

Mimetes cucullatus

But Nature is already reacting, look at this Protea cynaroides:

This Protea cynaroides has distributed all of its seeds

All its seeds have been dispersed! Here are a few still to be released from a flower close by:

There are still some seeds on this one to disperse

Pat has told us that we can wait as little as two weeks for the Fire Lilies Cyrtanthus ventricosa to come up, especially as we had a light shower on Wednesday night. So I went to look at where we have marked the two we have found; the firrst with a ring of stones:

Our ring of stones around a Fire Lily Cyrtanthus ventricosa

And lower down the ones on the cycle track:

We know there's a Fire Lily Cyrtanthus ventricosa here on the cycle track

I used the opportunity to shift the cycle track further away from them and pack more rocks around them:

I moved the cycle track away to the right a bit

We were aware of raptors taking advantage of the lack of cover, here a Yellow-billed Kite hovered over us:

Yellow-billed Kite taking advantage of the lack of cover!

On the subject of birds, during the fire on Wednesday afternoon I spotted this bird flying bewildered and agitated in the smoke looking for all the world like a Night-Jar:

Nightjar (?) in the smoke on Wednesday

So we'll be watching and monitoring the return of the Fynbos; Paradise Regained, as Milton reminded us!

At home, the March Lily Amaryllis belladonna flowered a full two weeks early:

Pippa painting the March Lilies Amaryllis belladonna in the garden

:-) A

A Walk in the Park and Sunday Flower Walk

This week's walk actually started last Sunday with an inspection of the Max Harris Park in the village, which a group of concerned Grabouwers tidied up after voting on Wednesday. The initiative came from Harold Smook of Elgin Food Exchange https://www.facebook.com/pages/Elgin-Food-Exchange/206725652834412. The Park already looks much more cared-for, after upwards of 40 people got stuck in, pruning, removing Port Jackson Acacia longifolia and cutting the grass. Many interesting shrubs and other plants were found to be growing there, showing that whoever laid the park out many years ago, planted a good variety of both indigenous and exotic species. One shrub which has us guessing is this, any suggestions?   Now exposed from undergrowth are these Babiana, but which? There are several examples of this Protea, could it be P. magnifica? Now looking smart opposite the entrance is this Great Trek Monument. The picture gives an impression of how tidy the park now looks; it was completely overgrown! Hesma and Isabel are comparing historical notes! Today was windy and sunny after a wet spell. This Metalasia is looking magnificent! Detail of the flower: Another, nearby was past its prime: Last week in the forest we came across Star Grass, Ficinia radiata. This one grows taller and the flower is less showy. In the past we have assumed it was (yet another!) Restio, but now with eyes better tuned, this is similar, could it be Ficinia bergiana? Or F. indica? Ficinia radiata Detail of the flower: Ficinia radiata flower One by one the Protea cynaroides are opening! Protea cynarioides We were very pleased to see the number of Agapanthus walshii coming up where the South-easter has spread the seeds from a single plant we have watched flowering over the years. Here is a small one: Agapanthus walshi The A. walshii's have relatively few flowers on each stalk, not all of them produce viable seeds, and we have seen and photographed caterpillars in the fruits: caterpillars in A. walshii seedpods Here is the single flowering plant in this area: A. walshii Compare that with the spent flower of an A. africanus here in the garden: A.africanus We were hesitant to check on 'our' plants where tree felling is proceding. We found the ring of stones where we marked this year's Cyrtanthus ventricosa, under a felled tree. The others, almost in the cycle path are still there, just a few leaves: Cyranthus ventricosa 'Our' Leucospermum oleifolium isn't looking happy at all! Leucospermum oleifolium between fallen pines And we had to uncover a large pile of pine cuttings lying on where we knew we'd find one of the Liparia splendens, with Agapanthus (not sure which kind) growing with it: No doubt it will survive, and thrive in the full sun, and maybe the Aggie will flower! A piece of the Liparia had broken off: Liparia splendens We checked up on the whitish-green Erica to see how the flowers are developing: Erica spp Detail of the flower, still to open? Erica spp We're now more tuned in to the Fungi, since Pippa did a one-day course with Gary Goldman, and noticed these Common Puffballs, Vascellum pratense, on the way home: Vascellum pratense And these Field Mushrooms in the orchard of the Experimental Farm next door: Until next time! :-) A